Latest Numbers: E-Books up, Paperbacks DownDigital Book WorldChildren's e-book sales are up 252% in the first half of 2012 versus the same period last year – a surge thought to be fueled by the stupendous success of The Hunger Games – according to...

One of the trends we've seen is how, as the word of the NSA's spying has spread, more and more ordinary people want to know how (or if) they can defend themselves from surveillance online. But where to start?

While not everyone can make infographics from scratch, there are tools available on the Web that will help you create your very own infographics. In this article, they-re listing more than 20 such options to help you get your messages across to your readers, visually.

While not everyone can make infographics from scratch, there are tools available on the Web that will help you create your very own infographics. In this article, they-re listing more than 20 such options to help you get your messages across to your readers, visually.

I met Terri Long on Twitter early in 2011 and quickly became a fan of this generous, upbeat, talented, hard-working indie author. I’ve watched as she’s achieved a level of success that, frankly, I believe we all aspire to. Her marketing efforts have paid off so well that her debut novel, In Leah’s Wake, often sells at a rate of over 100 books a day. I’m thrilled to host Terri as a guest on my blog today, as she shares a few highlights about the impressive road she’s traveled:

Indie publishing is a new frontier. Like all frontiers, it’s both exhilarating and scary. We can go it alone, feeling lonely, making avoidable mistakes. Or we can do it together – helping, promoting and supporting each other. Publishing my novel has been a learning experience. Among the most important lessons is our need to build a community. A community of author friends brings an enhanced network of readers and writers that only a bestselling author can create on his or her own.

Since I started blogging nearly 2 years ago the features that a lot of bloggers included in their blogs have changed dramatically as the social web becomes a vital component of the way we use the web and integrated into the online world.

Blog post at Blog Tips for a Better Blog - We Blog Better : Who else wants to be successful in blogging?

Hands down..

Here are 5 tips to make your blog successful...Three ways to become a great copywriter:Read more (so that you can steal others writing style) – great writers don’t imitate, they steal!Write more (practice makes a writer great writer)Edit more (caution: don’t edit while writing, editing should be done after writing)Use the word YOU as many times as possible. This will directly impact on your blog, are YOU getting me?

What is Reddit doing to the personalities of those who use it obsessively? Jeremy Wilson dives into the bowels of the site to ask whether our online personas are being shaped by this anything-goes social news forum.

When was the last time you had a good look at your profile picture? Does it match the image you are trying to portray for that particular site or are you still using an old outdated photo from a couple years ago to portray a cool guy image?

Well, that’s what my new book’s about. It’s called The Fate of Power and the Future of Dignity, and it doesn’t focus as much on free music files as it does on the world of finance—but what it suggests is that a file-sharing service and a hedge fund are essentially the same things. In both cases, there’s this idea that whoever has the biggest computer can analyze everyone else to their advantage and concentrate wealth and power. [Meanwhile], it’s shrinking the overall economy. I think it’s the mistake of our age.”

The mistake of our age? That’s a bold statement (as someone put it in Pulp Fiction). “I think it’s the reason why the rise of networking has coincided with the loss of the middle class, instead of an expansion in general wealth, which is what should happen. But if you say we’re creating the information economy, except that we’re making information free, then what we’re saying is we’re destroying the economy.”

I gave this talk at TechWeek L.A. (where else on such a topic?) last week as I felt the new social media evolutions, particularly the rise of the interest graph, are making things move quickly on that subject.

Why do we remember famous people in history? How? How about today's celebrities? And how are the Internet and the Social Web changing that now?

A look at the fame creation process tells us it is indissociable from the media creation process, which has been deeply impacted by new information technology. The Andy Warhol prediction is probably no longer valid and we need to rethink fame in the context of a distributed Internet network which more and more becomes topic-centric and no longer people-centric.

Robin Good: If you are about to decide which company/service to use to publish the paperback edition of your ebook you may have landed on at least one of the two companies in this sector: CreateSpace and Lightning Source.

"If you’re looking for a low cost, high royalty option, the two major competitors are Createspace and Lightning Source. While both are reputable companies that produce library-quality books, there are major benefits, drawbacks and differences to each that every author should be aware of before making an educated choice."

This article provides a good and informative overview of the key differences, pros and cons of these two services depending on the specific needs you may have.

There is so much noise out there. Tweets, status updates, emails, blog posts, comments, pins, and the like. So I have been considering how I ensure I can help out those I respect and admire. That, if a colleague or friend has a new book out, a great newsletter, a new product or course: how can I REALLY help spread the word? My conclusion:

Twitter now has a newer list upgrade. It is the answer to Facebook Groups. They have always had lists, but we can now have people in lists who we DO NOT subscribe to. We can also remove ourselves from other people's lists if we do not want to be on them. It should be interesting:

Ken

The newly launched Twitter Lists feature allows you to group together, follow, and find Twitter users. Learn the ins and outs of this new feature in our guide.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.